AgNet DEMO

Category: Florida

  • Passionate Plea: Florida Ag Commissioner Fried Testifies About Cucumbers, Squash

    commissioner
    Nikki Fried
    Florida Agriculture Commissioner

    Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried pleaded with the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) that Mexican imports of cucumbers and squash are devastating the domestic market, especially her state’s farmers.

    In testimony delivered as part of the USITC hearing on the effects of imports on Southeast markets on Thursday, Fried pointed to the statistical impact of both commodities.

    From 2015 to 2019, there was an estimated $382 million in lost cash receipts for Florida squash farmers. That equates to 1,222 fewer jobs and a $756 million negative impact.

    From 2015 to 2020, there were $562 million in lost cash receipts for Florida’s cucumber farmers. That equates to 1,499 fewer jobs and an overall negative impact of $1.11 billion.

    “That’s billion with a ‘B’. That’s over 2,500 good-paying jobs lost, family farms shutting down and parents struggling to provide for their children,” Fried said.

    Competitive Disadvantage

    She stressed that Florida farmers are at a huge disadvantage, specifically with regards to labor. As Florida approved measures to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour over the next few years, Mexican farmers can pay their workers as little as 25 cents per day.

    Florida’s $90.9 million cucumber industry and $35.4 million squash industry are in danger of dropping even further than it has over the last 20 years.

    “The argument that the devastation being felt among Florida’s producers is being caused by increased domestic competition is proven to be simply not true,” Fried said. “As these unfair practices are allowed to continue with no protections or remedies within reach of our domestic producers, we continue to see the harm spread to other states.”

    She stated that Georgia’s market share for squash growers decreased by 83.9% from 2015 to 2020.

    Hopeful for Different Outcome

    Fried also pleaded with the USITC to come to a different outcome than what it generated during the blueberry hearing. It was different commodities but same concept – imports are hurting the domestic market. The USITC voted 5-0 against American farmers claiming serious injury.

    “The last time I was here before you, I testified virtually on behalf of our state’s $62.3 million blueberry industry. In that January hearing, we also provided overwhelming evidence and data to support our case. Farmers from Florida and across the United States testified on the personal hardships they have experienced, while Mexico’s blueberry market share in the United States increased by over 2000% since 2009,” Fried said.

    “While the ruling in that case was extremely disappointing, it speaks to the need to reform and underlining structure that denies equal access to our nation’s trade remedies for our seasonal producers. It is my hope that while the ITC continues to uncover the devastating impact that increased imports are inflicting upon our domestic cucumber and squash industries, along with your ongoing monitoring of fresh strawberries and bell pepper imports, you will also employ all tools at your disposal to provide equity and fairness for American farmers.”

  • Thrips, Thrips, Thrips! Populations Oscillate in South Florida Fields

    According to UF/IFAS, Asian bean thrips (ABT) populations continue to swing back and forth across the South Florida region. While flower thrips are the predominant species north of Miami-Dade, a few locations still are reporting ABT at the dominant species.

    ABT populations ranged from 0.2 to 0.7 per bloom in southeastern Hendry County. Populations were reduced where records of 10 ABT per bloom were previously located to 0.1 to 1.1 per bloom. A change in the user’s pesticide program to include 5 modes of action multiple sprays per week is likely the reason for the population drop.

    ABT populations ranged from 0.0 to 2.0 ABT per bloom at bloom and early pod development stages in northeastern Hendry County. Hotspots were reported in central Hendry County, where populations ranged from 0.1 to 1.6 ABT per bud or bloom.

    Populations increased to 1.0 to 2.0 ABT per bloom or 1.0 to 5.0 ABT per plant in eastern Palm Beach County. A few hotspots remain in western and northwestern Palm Beach County, with reports of 1.0 to 2.0 ABT per bloom.

    Snap bean plantings are still young in southern Martin County, so ABT was not reported.  Beans were harvested, and young peas were not yet scouted in northern Collier County.

    Some damage information has now been collected and is reported here: Preliminary Scouting and Damage Data.

  • Representative Response: Austin Scott, Darren Soto Pen Letter to ITC

    Austin Scott

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Reps. Austin Scott (R-GA-08) and Darren Soto (D-FL-09) co-led a bipartisan letter to the International Trade Commission (ITC) on Tuesday expressing support for a Section 332 investigation for cucumbers and squash as American specialty crop producers struggle with unfair trade practices that negatively impact operations.

    “Seasonal cucumber and squash imports from Mexico continue to dramatically impact U.S. markets and threaten the future of domestic farm production of perishable produce,” wrote the Members. “This Section 332 investigation by the ITC for cucumbers and squash is needed to make a meaningful determination as to the impact of these seasonal imports on our markets. Market changes occur quickly and can devastate a grower’s season in a matter of days if imports increase and the resulting price decreases coincide with harvest. We appreciate your efforts on behalf of our growers and rural communities.”

    The letter is supported by Georgia Farm Bureau, Florida Farm Bureau, Michigan Farm Bureau, the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Association, and the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association.

    Darren Soto

    “Georgia Farm Bureau agrees with U.S. Representatives Austin Scott and Darren Soto that a Section 332 investigation for cucumbers and squash is necessary to determine the full impact that imported produce is having on domestic growers. In recent years, Georgia farmers — along with farmers in many other U.S. states — have struggled to compete with the growing surge of imported fresh fruits and vegetables, and as noted by the reports highlighted in the letter, the problem will only get worse unless U.S. officials step in. We are grateful for the leadership of Representatives Scott and Soto along with the other Members of Congress who joined this important effort,” said Tom McCall, President of Georgia Farm Bureau.

    “The several specialty crop states represented on this letter should signal a growing national concern for our agriculture sector,” said John L. Hoblick, President of Florida Farm Bureau. “Florida agriculture, and our rural communities as a result, is at a crossroads. This investigation on squash and cucumbers is a helpful start toward a fair solution for our domestic producers, and we applaud our federal policymakers for standing with us.”

    The letter was sent two days ahead of Thursday’s ITC fact-finding hearing that will focus on cucumber and squash imports and their impact on the Southeast sector.

    In November, Rep. Scott sent a similar letter to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) requesting ITC begin a Section 332 investigation into squash and cucumber imports. Click here to read more.

    You can read the text of the letter below or by clicking here.

  • Taste Test: UF Scientists Use AI to Develop Better Tasting Strawberries

    UF/IFAS photo/Hands holding harvested strawberries. Photo taken 02-05-20.

    Source: UF/IFAS   

    A $300 million-a-year industry in Florida may soon depend on artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance its flavor.

    Research at the University of Florida (UF) shows AI can help scientists breed more flavor into strawberries.

    While consumer panels are the method for UF researchers to gauge whether new fruit varieties taste good enough for development into market, in the evolving world of AI, a computer can now tell scientists what strawberries taste and smell like. This will help researchers determine whether a variety is worth more genetic breeding efforts.

    Vance Whitaker, a UF/IFAS associate professor of horticultural sciences, used an algorithm that allows him to predict how a strawberry will taste, based on the chemical constitution of its fruit. The computer method also takes less time than volunteer test panels.

    UF/IFAS photo/Vance Whitaker. Taken on 11-08-18.

    Whitaker published new research in the journal Nature Horticulture Research in which he and his team used taste-test panels and computer technology to identify the volatiles that give strawberries their unique tangy flavor.

    “Some volatiles are more important than others,” said Whitaker, a faculty member at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center. “Knowing this allows us to focus in on a few high-impact breeding targets. In other words, now we know which volatile compounds we want to increase in breeding to achieve better flavor.”

    Over seven years, 384 consumers came to the UF Sensory Lab in Gainesville to provide feedback on flavor and aroma of strawberry varieties. Whitaker and his team compared their preferences with results that were derived from an already established algorithm and found the volatiles he needs to boost in strawberries he breeds in the future to improve their flavor.

    Machine learning algorithms are especially useful for analyzing “big data,” Whitaker said. When the data set is huge and involves a lot of variables at once, machine learning picks out patterns that previous statistical methods cannot.

    Click here for additional information.

  • Florida Legislator: House Bill 1601 a Dangerous Piece of Legislation

    Sugarcane burning

    One Florida state legislator deems House Bill 1601 a “dangerous piece of legislation.” Another accuses “Big Sugar” of attempting to “change the rules” in the middle of the game.

    The bill that is likely to see the House in the next couple of weeks has drawn the ire of Florida State Representatives Anna Eskamani and Omari Hardy. Also known as Senate Bill 88, the House bill modifies Florida’s Right to Farm Act to broadly protect farmers from lawsuits if they’ve followed regulatory requirements.

    Pending Lawsuit

    Big Sugar, which includes Florida Crystals Corporation, U.S. Sugar and Sugar Care Growers Cooperative of Florida, is already involved in a lawsuit which cites sugarcane burning as having harmful effects on their health and pollutes the environment. Both legislators believe the bill’s timing wreaks of Big Sugar’s influence and will have dangerous ramifications if it passes.

    “To be so embedded when it comes to their political and community influence, that even the idea of changing a practice so that children and generations to come can have clean air when they walk outside and go to school; because they stand against that, not only have they denied us the opportunity to pursue green harvesting but they are pushing forward a priority bill that would potentially undercut pending litigation filed by local members of the community trying to end the practice of sugarcane burning,” Eskamani said.

    Hardy added, “In this case, we have people trying to make a claim in court. Rather than let that play out, Big Sugar has come to the legislature to get the legislature to change the law in the middle of the lawsuit. It’s changing the rules in the middle of the game, and it’s not fair. That’s why this bill should not be heard, but if it’s heard, it should not be advanced, but if it’s advanced, it should not be advanced in its current form. There needs to be significant changes made to this bill.”

    Current Litigation Not Impacted?

    However, Adam Basford, Director of State Legislative Affairs at Florida Farm Bureau, insists the bill will not impact any current litigation.

    Sugarcane burning

    “Any current litigation that is going on is unaffected,” Basford said. “For a law to be retroactive, it’s got to be explicitly retroactive, and the language, there is explicitly not retroactive. That’s really the response to the thought that this is in an effort to impact the litigation that’s going on right now.”

    But Hardy insists that if that was the case, why wasn’t his amendment that the bill not apply retroactively included?

    “While the (bill’s) sponsor says that the bill does not apply retroactively, the fact of the matter is my amendment was not adopted. There’s a reason why you would not adopt a harmless amendment to clarify that the bill does not apply retroactively, because I believe the folks that are pushing this bill want it to stop the lawsuit that is currently in place, to close the doors of the courthouse to people who are seeking justice right now,” Hardy said.

    Sugarcane Burning

    Sugarcane burning was the focus of Tuesday’s press conference with both legislators as well as citizens impacted by the practice.

    Proponents of the agricultural practice say that pre-harvest burns are necessary for Florida farmers and does not endanger surrounding communities. Pre-harvest burns promote healthy plant regrowth for future crops and improves the quality and efficiency of the harvest.

    Ryan Duffy, director of corporate communications for U.S. Sugar, and Judy Sanchez, senior director for corporate communications and public affairs at U.S. Sugar, said that all controlled pre-harvest burns are regulated by the Florida Forest Service. Every controlled pre-harvest burn requires an individual burn permit for each field, which will only be issued for that day. The Florida Forest Service grants or denies the permit based upon that day’s weather conditions.

    Certain criteria must be met for a sugarcane grower to be approved for a burn permit. These include wind direction and speed, atmospheric conditions and location relative to sensitive areas like hospitals, schools and highways.

    What Opponents Want

    Opponents of the burning practice want sugarcane producers to switch to green harvesting. This practice uses mechanical harvesters to separate the sugarcane leaves and tops from the stalks. It would eliminate burning altogether.

    “I want to be clear, no one is trying to end the industry. People are just trying to end this practice that has damaged far too many lives and far too many communities,” Eskamani said. “House Bill 1601 is a dangerous piece of legislation, also known as Senate Bill 88. It completely would negate efforts to seek some sort of judicial process when faced with a nuisance that is outside of a farm. The way they have defined this nuisance is in such narrow terms that particles from sugarcane burning, which by the way, can float upwards of 20 and 25 miles, you will not be able to seek any type of litigation or any type of recourse if this bill were to become law.”

    What Mechanical Harvesting Won’t Do

    In September, Duffy said that specialty interest groups have selectively chosen a piece of the research and said you can get the same yield if you don’t burn the cane versus cane that’s burnt.

    “What that misses is that if you leave all of that leaf trash on the field, it will impact the next year’s crop, and there may not be the same yield next year,” Duffy said.

    Basford said the bill is part of the agenda for next week’s Judiciary Committee Hearing. It would then move to the House the following week.

    “I think that no one on this call would accept ash falling from the sky onto their home, into their yards, onto their playgrounds where their children play. I also believe that if that were happening that you would want to have the doors of the courthouse open to you. So that if you have a claim, that you can have that claim heard and have it adjudicated fairly,” Hardy said. “What this bill does, it not only allows this practice of sugarcane burning to continue, but it closes the doors of the courthouse to people seeking justice.”

  • South Florida Producers Dealing with Abnormally Dry Conditions

    South Florida is abnormally dry. While it is not uncommon this time of year, vegetable and specialty crop producers are having to adjust with their irrigation management, says Gene McAvoy, University of Florida Regional Vegetable Extension Agent IV Emeritus.

    “It’s pretty characteristic of this time of year in South Florida. We’re in the height of our dry season now. We had a little rain with the last front that went through; anywhere from a few tenths to a half inch, but yeah, it’s dry out there,” McAvoy said.

    According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the majority of middle Florida to South Florida is classified as ‘D0’ or abnormally dry. With hot and dry conditions being the case for most of this region, it can lead to additional concerns for farmers beyond just water needs.

    “Seasonally, we’re seeing an increase in insect pressure, particularly, things like whiteflies, worms, pepper weevils. Again, it kind of goes with this time of year. We’ve been planting since August, so populations build up,” McAvoy said.

  • Narrow Escape: North Florida Watermelons Dodge Significant Frost Damage

    File photo shows watermelon field.

    Watermelon farmers in Northeast Florida escaped significant damage this weekend during frost and prolonged cold temperatures, believes Bob Hochmuth, UF/IFAS Regional Specialized Extension agent in Live Oak, Florida.

    “The way that I characterize it is we escaped narrowly. I think if we had another degree or two colder or if the event had been a couple of hours longer, any one of those, I think we would have had a big mess on our hands in the case of watermelons and other vegetables,” Hochmuth said.

    He believes that though watermelons incurred some frost damage in the Suwanee Valley area, they should make a full recovery.

    “We feel like going into this cold, the root systems were well established and advanced. I think the plant is going to push back pretty rapidly. I think the recovery on those fields is going to be pretty rapid because of the warm soils, big root systems. It’ll already start to push new growth,” Hochmuth said. “In fact, from 8 o’clock to 5 o’clock on Saturday, you could actually see that growth. Maybe two or three inches of new growth just on Saturday at the beginning of that recovery.”

    Just How Cold Was it?

    Hochmuth estimates that temperatures in the Suwanee Valley area – Levy County, Gilchrist County, Alachua County – on up to the Georgia line, the temperature range was 32 degrees Fahrenheit to 37 degrees. Most of the temperatures centered around 33 degrees or 34 degrees. Heavy frost was also constant throughout most of the area.

    Hochmuth

    “We were 95% to 98% planted. A lot of those were 3- or 4-foot-long vines, with the earliest ones planted in late February, those watermelons were setting fruit. It’s a very unusual scenario,” Hochmuth said. “It’s not crazy unusual to get a freeze event in the first few days in April. But I think the thing that made it especially precarious this year is that it was so warm in February, there was a lot of acreage that was planted that normally wouldn’t be planted that early. That put the crop at an advanced state in comparison to normal for the first week in April.”

    He rode around to fields on Saturday and observed that 50% of the fields appeared untouched, while 50% ranged from slight frost damage to pretty severe damage.

    “The temperature over a plastic mulch field of vegetables is much warmer than a bare ground/pasture type of a field. As the air mass moves into the watermelon field, it’s pushing against the warm air mass over top of that field. That means where the cold air wins, you get damage on that first 50, 100, 200 feet,” he added. “That was very commonplace to what we saw around the perimeter of the fields. That’s where we saw the most damage. Where the fields are relatively protected, we didn’t see a whole lot of damage.”

    Protect Against Disease

    Hochmuth cautions watermelon producers that frost damage predisposes the crop to additional disease pressure. Producers need to return to their usual fungicide program and protect the plant from leaf tissue that’s been damaged.

  • Smart Investment: Prosperous Season Leads Farmer to Save, not Expand

    What is it like to be an American farmer in 2021? In an era when success should spark expansion and growth, producers are content with saving money for the next rainy day that is bound to come along.

    That’s the impact imports are having on producers like Matt Parke. The Parkesdale Farms strawberry farmer in Plant City, Florida enjoyed a bumper crop this year. Prices remained steady, and he enjoyed a prosperous season.

    So how does he celebrate? By putting the profits into savings in preparation for those years that are not as prosperous.

    “Over here in Parksdale, we know what the bad looks like. This is awkward for us to have a good year. It’s not like, okay we’ve got some money now, lets go grow,” Parke said. “I plan next year not to have a good year, so I’m not going to go spend any money. I’m going to put it in the bank and wait for that bad one, so I don’t owe the bank any money.

    “But Mexico’s on the other end of that deal. Mexico’s going, ‘Oh we had a good year, lets put in another 5,000 acres.’”

    University of Florida Associate Professor Zhengfei Guan said the Mexican government subsidizes its fruit and vegetable industry. From 2006 to 2016, the average annual budget for subsidies was $4.5 billion. Approximately 95% of Mexico’s protected acreage (those in macro-tunnels, shade houses and greenhouses) is for fruits and vegetables.

    Mexico can expand its acreage, which it has done exponentially over the previous decade. Guan said strawberry imports from Mexico were one-third of the total production in Florida in 2000, while in 2019, Mexican imports were two times higher than the Florida production.

    American farmers don’t have that luxury of expanding, which is why they are advocating to consumers to buy local.

    “I would love to grow. I have dreams of growing, but I don’t want to grow because I know what happens. You get too big, and we have some bad years, and then the bank calls the chickens home. You know what happens after that,” Parke said.

  • Watermelon Production Decreased in 2020

    Prices were High

    Watermelon production in the United States decreased in 2020, while prices remained strong. According to the USDA Fruit and Tree Nuts Outlook, domestic fresh-market watermelon production totaled 3,419.9 million pounds in 2020, which is a decrease of 4.4% from the previous season.

    The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reported that production in 2019 was 3,579.2 million pounds, and in 2018, it was 3.914.9 million pounds.

    Production in Florida and Georgia decreased, while North Carolina increased. The USDA NASS also reported that the average price per pound was 17 cents in 2020, up 10% from the previous year.

    Watermelon imports decreased 4.1% in 2020. Mexico is once again a huge exporter of watermelons, supplying 85% of the imports into the U.S. in 2020.

    Imports were down 6.9% in January 2021, compared to 2020. Mexican shipments of watermelons in January were also 8.4% lower.

    Watermelon exports increased 11.5% in 2020.

    It was one of the few commodities not impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. After the initial shock that did impact South Florida producers in March 2020, retail demand picked up.

    The February 2021 freeze in Texas may impact domestic watermelon supplies in future months.

  • Crop Progress: What’s Happening in Southeastern States?

    The United States Department of Agriculture released its crop progress reports for each state this week.

    Alabama: Temperatures in March were comparable with or up to 7.9 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than historical averages. Rainfall ranged from 2.6 inches to 14.6 inches, though heavy rain was recorded during the latter part of the month. It improved drought conditions but also halted field work.

    Photo by Clint Thompson/Shows Georgia peach tree in bloom.

    Producers impacted by Hurricane Sally last September continue to repair fields and damaged structures.

    Florida: March temperatures were on average 2.2 degrees warmer compared to historical averages. Rainfall was as high as 6.5 inches in Okaloosa County. But at the end of the month, the state was 49% abnormally dry and 1% in moderate drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

    Various fruits and vegetables were planted and marketed. Whiteflies and pest pressure were noted on vegetable crops in South Florida. Citrus fruit harvested for the fresh market included white and red grapefruit, Valencia oranges, as well as Honey, Tango and Royal tangerines.

    Georgia: March temperatures were on average 3.4 degrees warmer than historical values. Total rainfall was as high as 13.5 inches in Rabun County. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, 21% of the state was abnormally dry. Frequent rain showers in latter March saturated fields and reduced field activities.

    Producers in South Georgia noted fields started to dry out, which allowed them to continuing planting. Peaches and blueberries were in full bloom. Vegetable growers planted some fields. Onion harvesting will begin soon. Pecan trees are also budding in multiple counties.